Well, mommy loves preparing foods for the family, unfortunately there are times that you need to venture for new taste, new delicacies and new preparation or set up of food. Most of the time, I, myself crave for something different, a new taste of food. Gladly that I was invited for an event and take note it's a food tasting event. Just the right time when I'm craving for something new.

The place was called Wangfu Chinese Cafe and it is found at Il Terrazzo Mall in Tomas Morato. It's just around the place of Tomas Morato where most of the best places in the metro are located, by the way Tomas Morato is in Quezon City. What's surprising about the place is that it can easily be spotted.

Wangfu Chinese Cafe restaurant that serves Singaporean and Cantonese cuisine in a modern cafe. According to the Owner, they have two (2) meaning for the restaurants name Wangfu. For the literal Chinese meaning, "Wang" means King or Prince while the "Fu" means Place, so Wangfu literally means the Place of a King or Prince. The other meaning or where it is taken is from the Chinese surname of both owner which "Wang" and still the "Fu" as a place or venue. When put together defines as Wang's Place.

Crunchy Sweet and Sour Pork

It was really an OMG! because my tummy was full that day. My eyes grew big when I saw the foods served to us and they were amazingly tasteful. I love trying and tasting different food of different country it gives me a sense of being into that place. Isn't it nice thinking like that?

The Cereal Prawns

Beef Curry

Well, we were served with different dishes and I'll start with the Crunchy Sweet and Sour Pork which I could say was the blockbuster in our table, there were no leftover. The next one is the Hainanese Chicken, unfortunately I am not a fan of poached dishes and I want my dish cooked well and done. Next is the Soy Chicken, this is somewhat nice on my taste bud. I like it! Followed by the Curry Beef or is it Beef Curry not really sure how it was called. What I like about beef that it was so tender and the curry was so light. I love using curry when I am cooking, I want large amount of it on my dish. If you're not a fan of the curry, well, Wangfu's Beef Curry is the best for you because of its mild curry flavor. This next one is new to me, the Cereal Prawns. It is coated with cereals, it tasted sweet and I loved it! Not just because I really love shrimp but because this is something new on my taste bud. French Beans Stir Fry, I don't eat vegetables that much but beans is one of the vegetables that I like to eat. This beans of Wangfu was good with a kick of spicyness in it.

Soy Chicken

HainaneseChicken

French Beans Stir Fry

Oh before I forgot, the drinks that I ordered was the Honey Peach Freeze which taste so good. I like the sweetness and I'll definitely order that drinks again when I visit Wangfu.

Traditional Ice Kachang

Another food that I'm going to order again is the Traditional Ice Kachang. It was also the blockbuster in our table. Well, my friend reacted when she saw it in my FB status, she said that she missed eating Kachang she last ate one when she was still in Singapore. I told her that she should visit Wangfu in Tomas Morate, Quezon City if she want to experience it again.

So, readers if you want to have a something new for your taste bud, better visit Wangfu Chinese Cafe to experience Singaporean Delicacies.

In an age when there are a million online shops and flash sale sites, I love that Fab is a fabulous destination for one stop shopping. They have vintage and new products for men, women, children, pets, your home...you name it, they've got it. These are just a few of my new favorite Fab finds.

As someone who wears pearl earrings every day, I think it might be time for a change. I’m loving these jasper druzy stone earrings set in gold above. They also coordinate with all my grey winter clothes.

I recently found a vintage zebra rug for my apartment but a great alternative is this 100% cowhide zebra rug.It probably doesn’t shed as bad as mine does too.

I haven’t bought a new desk calendar yet for 2013 and this Rifle Paper Botanical Desk Calendar looks like a perfect choice. Anna Bond’s illustrations are always chic and cheerful.

One of the best categories on Fab is the tech gadgets. I don’t love conference calls so how fun would it be to talk on this iCooly Handsetwhile being able to scroll through instagram and twitter at the same time.

I’ve heard many bloggers wish they could own a Cy Twombly. Since most of us will never actually be able to afford one, this lithograph of Crimes of Passion II would be a perfect alternative. You don’t even have to tell anyone it’s not an original,

I joke that I am almost run over by a Razr scooter every day on the Upper East Side. I might be less upset about it if the child was riding this vintage handmade folk art scooter in its original orange paint.

How funny would it be to give your favorite digital photographer this tee shirt celebrating old school The Fotomat. I kind of want one for myself!

Mmmmmmm this is my favorite way to make salsa that has some good nutrition in it too. It can happen. Yes, you can make your own salsa from scratch, but this recipe involves using a jar of Organic Salsa. That is the quick part. The following amounts of the ingredients are approximate, and you can adjust to your individual taste, and to the amount of salsa you are making. I just want to give you the overall idea of what to add into the salsa of choice, to make it a nutty super-food special! Once you pour your salsa into a bowl, just take a few seconds of your precious time to add a handful of raw organic cashew pieces, 2 TB hemp seeds, 2 tsp nutritional yeast, 1 TB flax powder, and 1 tsp of chia seeds. Mix and let mixture sit while you go to the pantry to get a bag of Garden of Eatin' Organic Blue Tortilla Chips, or Mediterranean Snacks Baked Lentil Chips.

I can assure you that this super salsa is always the hit of the party! Although I say...that you can go ahead and make some just for yourself, on any old day. I won't tell....just don't eat the whole bag of chips....save some for another day of crunch satisfaction. This is such a hearty nutty salsa, that is so totally satisfying, and so filling, that you really will not eat too many chips after all. Oh that does look yummy! For you sporty types, this would be a perfect addition to the game snack table.

I was saddened to hear that legendary French interior designer AndréePutman passed away in Paris Saturday at the age of 87. She might be best know here in New York for designing the Morgans Hotel for Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager but she also designed many spaces and products in her famous minimalist style. I posted the photos of the apartment she designed in Paris in this post a month after I began my blog in 2007 and they still stand up today. They are a testament to her talent that will be very missed.

"Unless you have a feeling for that secret knowledge that modest things can be more beautiful than anything expensive, you will never have style." - AndréePutman (1925-2013)

Today, 21 January, is officially the most depressing day of the year, or so everyone on the radio and in the papers keep telling me.

Apparently psychologist Cliff Arnall came up with this date after working out a scientific formula based on the length of time until next Christmas, holiday debt and the likelihood of giving up on New Year's Resolutions. Add to this short day length, bad weather and illness and it's not surprising that many people would like to curl up in their duvet and not come out.

So how do I feel? Sorry Mr Arnall but actually I feel ... good. I also feel even happier knowing that I am not a statistic!

To cheer up anyone who, like me, had a misspent youth in the eighties, the following clip is from the original music video for New Order's 1983 song 'Blue Monday' back in the days when guys looked cool in make up (or so I thought back then).

Shortly after watching a Ted Talk video a few months ago, I decided to start taking Host Defense TURKEY TAIL MUSHROOM capsules. The Turkey Tail is a predominant mushroom found in woodlands around the world, and it seems some of the best help for medical problems could be right under our feet, or growing on a nearby log!In a breast cancer clinical study by NIH (National Institutes Of Health), they found that organic Turkey Tail mushrooms provided by Paul Stamets, helped base immunity function. You can read an article by Paul Stamets about the clinical study and the benefits of organic Turkey Tail mushrooms here. This got me thinking, since I had a diagnosis of breast cancer earlier this year. I want to follow what are safe methods of treating, and preventing any dis-ease within the body, and that is by using natural methods. Especially good when these natural methods and substances are proven in scientific studies. Hello mushrooms, my new best friend.

My doctor Joel Fuhrman M. D. has also recommended eating a lot of mushrooms, greens, seeds, onions, beans, and berries, as part as his G-BOMB nutrition advice to prevent cancer. You can read about the G_BOMB list here on his website, filled as always with a great deal of good sound nutrition information for everyone, even if you don't have cancer. If you change your diet now, maybe you will not be the one out of every three people, who do get cancer these days. In addition, here is an article by Andrew Weil MD also talking about mushrooms, cancer, and immunity. Yes, it seems mushrooms are all the rage in the medical community! It's a good thing I like mushrooms! I feel with their texture, they can be a good substitute for a meaty feel in some recipes. I used to have a problem digesting mushrooms, but now with my digestive system being changed by my clean eating this past year, I have no problem eating mushrooms at all.

Below is the Ted Talk video, it's short, sweet and to the point. Give it a listen!

Now i buy fresh shitake, or portobello, mushrooms every week to eat along with my onions. Of course I have greens in my juices and salads, beans in my soups and hummus, and I have berries every morning in my smoothies. From what I have read, it seems the more unusual mushrooms have the more powerful medicinal effects, but everyday mushrooms like white, cremini and portobello mushrooms have wonderful healing qualities too. Please note that the mushrooms should be cooked, and not eaten raw. I read on the Fungi Perfecti website that you can even place sliced mushrooms out in the sun during the months of June to September for two days to increase the viability of Vitamin D delivery to your body. I am going to start doing that this summer!

On the days I do not have fresh mushrooms to eat, I take two organicHD TURKEY TAIL MUSHROOM (vegetarian) capsules. I plan on also trying the Fungi Perfecti Host Defense My Community and Fungi Perfecti Host Defense Stamets 7, Mushroom Blends as well, since these other mushroom species may contain beneficial properties that may be helpful to my body as well. I sent away for the Paul Stamets Fungi Perfecti catalog, and really enjoyed looking through all the ways to grow your own mushrooms at home. I think I will probably also try do that, as it looks like a fun activity! By the way, that catalog is overflowing with all things mushroom! Love the name Fungi Perfecti!

It would be wonderful if you would check out the video below, which is an important talk by Paul Stamets about the world of mycellium. You will find that mushrooms have some amazing qualities, which could actually benefit humanity with some of the major problems we have in the world... and... even with the ants around our house! Here is a link to when Paul Stamets talked to NPRabout Small Pox defense and mushrooms. This world of mushrooms is crazy cool! Paul's latest book is called Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the Worldand goes into a greater depth of information about the information in the video below. I hope some of the people who control the world are paying attention. This is information we can use!

Wow! All in all, there is so much to learn about the magical worlds of mushrooms! I suggest you start doing some research into medicinal mushrooms, and see if they might be helpful to you too. If you are thinking about getting started in growing your own supply of Medicinal Mushrooms here is the book Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushroomsby Paul Stamets to get you started. Really, don't you think Paul must be a true wizard of the Earth!

Just about a year ago I first interviewed Luke Perry on the eve of the release of his second outing as Wyoming circuit Judge John Goodnight in GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE: THE MEASURE OF A MAN.Perry is not just the star of the films; he created the character, and writes the movies with Tippi and Neal Dobrofsky, and is one of the executive producers.(If you’d like to read that interview, where we discuss not just the GOODNIGHT films, but Luke’s entire Western career, please go HERE)

On Saturday, January 26th, GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE: QUEEN OF HEARTS will have its world premiere on the Hallmark Movie Channel.Last week we spoke about the new film, the future of the film series, and other projects he’s been pursuing over the past year.

HENRY:Well first off, you know I enjoyed your first two GOODNIGHT films, but I think the QUEEN OF HEARTS is the best yet.

LUKE:Well, I think it all came together on this one.We had a lot of practice on the other two and on this one it all came together in a way that I sort of agree with you.It’s the most fully-realized version of the character yet.

H: That must feel awfully good.

L:It does.I was able to get a director, friend of mine, Martin Wood, who I’d worked with a number of times, on a show I used to do calledJERIMIAH, and Martin always had such great visual sensibilities.He’d sort of been tagged as this guy who just directed sci-fi shows.But I knew that he wanted to make a Western; if he ever had a shot I thought he would do well, and I’m very happy with his efforts.He was able photographically to put more on the table than other people; because he was willing to do it, and he had the technical knowhow -- he can always be a third camera.And when I jumped off the cliff, into the water, I almost landed on him – he was right down there, in the water, with his flippers on.

H:So you guys actually did jump into water – that wasn’t CGI’d in.

L:No, no; I did that jump.That was the best part of the movie, for me, was getting to do the jump up there at PittLake.I’d say it was about 35 feet.

H:I loved the business with the bear early in the story – how was that to do?

L:(Laughs) Oh shit!That was my first bear, but I always wanted to do it.First of all, there were two bears, and we switched them on and off.And I got really close; I could smell their breath.They give them treats to make them perform, and a few times it’ll be bags of cookies, and sometimes they’ll throw some chicken.And depending on which bear, I could smell it on their breath.Pretty close, and one of the boys touched me on the chin during one of the scenes.He’d sort of been looking right past me the whole time, and then after he touched me on the chin he looked me right in the eye, like he knew I was there all of a sudden.

H:It was very impressive.You’re back with your same team again, except for director and DP; you’ve got Neal and Tippi Dobrofsky again.

L:Yuh, same guys, and I really like that.Because then it doesn’t take long to get everybody up to speed; and we made these two (MEASURE OF A MAN and QUEEN OF HEARTS) back-to-back.Just took off a couple of days in between, and it worked out really well that way.I think this one’s got a lot of neat elements, with the boat, and the cliff and the bear and the stagecoach, and that’s hard to do on a small movie like this, but they were really great about pulling it all off for me.

H:You’ve got a lot of solid action in this one.And it seems to me that your portrayal of Goodnight is not so consistently dark as in the previous films.I thought there was a lot more humor in this one.I kept thinking of MAVERICK.

L:You know, I’ve always said that westerns can be a lot of different types of stories. At the Hallmark Movie Channel they were saying to me that Goodnight was consistently on the dark side; could you throw us one that’s a little more ‘run-and-jump’?Sure, happy to do it.I like those kinds of movies myself, you know.I mean they don’t all have to be about death and justice and somebody swinging at the end of a rope.Though a lot of them do have to be.I thought, we can run, we can jump, add a pretty girl – you don’t have to twist my arm.

H:Speaking of a pretty girl, I’d never seen Katherine Isabelle before; I thought she was just terrific with you.Real chemistry.

L:Yeah, I like Katherine.She stayed on her horse; she never fell off.That’s what I need this time, I needed someone who could ride this time, and she’s awful pretty.

H:Yes she is, and she’s very expressive.You can read every thought her character is going through on her face.

L:And again that comes back to Mark, because he’ll let the actors do that kind of work.That’s the kind of stuff I like.Just because a movie is made for a low budget and for the Hallmark Movie Channel doesn’t mean there can’t be subtlety in the performance, and nuance to the kind of work that the lady can do.That’s a credit to Mark.

H:Now Ricky Schroder is an unusual choice, but very effective, as the sinister and conniving Col. Cyril Knox.How did he come to be cast?

L:My producing partner Ira Pincus had worked with him before, on a project.So that was Ira’s contribution to the film, to bring Ricky along.

H:Of course you and Ricky have something in common, in that you both made your names on TV series when you were quite young.And it’s interesting that you both gravitate towards Westerns now.How did you two get along?

L:It all went pretty well.Like you said, he’s been doing it a long time, and knows what he’s up to.It all went pretty smoothly.

H:Now I’m not going to give it away, but there’s a great moment, a great stunt that you do on the paddle-wheel boat.

L:Well, this whole movie was based on me wanting to do that gag.I’ve been wanting to do that gag since I was a six-year-old kid, probably.And when I started pitching ‘em stories about what I wanted to do, I said, “There’s this one on a paddle-wheel boat,” and I worked backward from there.I reverse-engineered that story to get me on that boat.

H:Was this a more physically demanding film than the last two?

L:Well, that was the trade I made with them.If I don’t get to do the darker, heavier story, and you want it to be more run-and-jump, well you really better let me run and really better let me jump, because I like to do that.So let’s really give them something they haven’t seen.Traditionally the Westerns on this channel just don’t have all the elements in one picture that we were able to deliver in this one.You’ve seen a lot of the other Hallmark Westerns, and I’ve made a few of them, and I know, basically there’re always horses and covered wagons.But there’s a whole lot more going on in the period,and I really love to open up the story, where you get to see things like a river-boat and other modes of transit, why people took them, and the role that women played back then.We sort of see them as wives and daughters, and saloon girls.But they were complicated women that had a lot on their minds, and with this character, I thought in particular, this is a great time that we can show that; bring a little diversity to the woman.

H:Now David Pelletier was your cinematographer, and I thought the picture just looked beautiful.Great exteriors; great interior compositions.Had you worked with him before?

L:Well, I’ll tell you, Dave’s my man for these movies from here on out.I wish I’d had him on the first one.I really do.He had such a great eye for it.The crew loved him.He knew exactly – when I was explaining to Dave how I wanted it to look, and what I wanted to have happen, he was so accommodating.You don’t tell Dave how to do his job.You tell him what you want, and he really helps to enrich the process for me.And at the end, he’s just a dude I can hang out with.Great guy.

H:What’s next for Judge Goodnight?

L:Well, it’s funny; we’re waiting to see if he gets a reprieve.I think these guys have been a little timid in pulling the trigger on any more of them, I know not why.But (the films) seem to be working pretty good to me.I’m hoping, when I see them in a couple of days, they’ll tell me they liked it and they’ll get some more.But my guess is they’ll wait and see how it does when it airs.That’s why with this one I’m just throwing in everything but the kitchen sink, because you never know when it’s going to be the last one that you get to do with a character.But I’ve got other ideas for this guy, so I’m hoping they can figure their way out to do some more.

H:I certainly want to see more.

L:Sweet!Make sure you let them know.

H:Don’t worry, that goes in the review.Now since we last spoke you’ve been doing a tremendous amount of work.You guested on BODY OF EVIDENCE, a two-parter, you’ve got four movies in post-production, DRAGON WARRIORS, K-9 ADVENTURE – A CHRISTMAS TALE, RED WING, FLAT CHESTED.Wow!How do you fit ‘em all in?

L:Well, when a movie like FLAT-CHESTED comes along, you make time.This is a movie that I am so proud of the process.I’ll tell you, I haven’t seen the film yet, but just the process of making it, going to Chicago and working with those kids, and having Kristyn Benedyk tell her story like this, it was great.It was one of those things that really made me glad to be an actor.It’s been the longest time since something made me feel like that movie did.

H:I don’t know too much about it, except that it’s about a woman whose going to have a double-mastectomy.

L:Yes!And the script is only twenty pages long, and in those twenty pages I laughed out loud, and I cried.And that’s what you look for as an actor.You just look for that one that takes you all over the place.This woman, Kristyn, is so talented and so able to really get to the heart of that situation with so much humanity and humor and grace.And I was fortunate to work with the lovely and talented Alicia Witt, who really gives just a tour de force, I think.But I can’t wait till it’s done and it comes out.That’s the one I’m most excited about.Some movies are fun, jump, pretend, playing the judge, and other movies have something to say, and it’s said so eloquently, and photographed so beautifully.You think, God, that’s what movies can do.

H:Anything else in particular we should be looking for?

L:Got to see how the judge does.Going to hang back until the end of January, see how the judge does, see how many cards we have on the table.I’ve never been a big prognosticator, and I try not to line up two in a row any more; I learned that.It just gets your life weird.I’m fortunate to be in a position where I can hang out for a minute and see what I want to do next.

RICKY SCHRODER INTERVIEW

For many Western fans like myself, the name of actor Ricky Schroder immediately conjures up the image of him, at 18, as Newt, the unacknowledged son of Woodrow Call (Tommy Lee Jones) in the unforgettable LONESOME DOVE.Ricky has grown up, and acted in a wide variety of movie and TV roles, notably on NYPD BLUE and 24, and has become a writer and director as well.While he’s worked in every genre imaginable, he keeps coming back to Westerns.On Saturday, January 26th, in a major switch on his image, he’ll be the villain to Luke Perry’s hero in GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE: QUEEN OF HEARTS, and he turns in a seriously chilling performance as Col.Cyril Knox.

In March he will also be seen on the Hallmark Movie Channel in the premiere movie WILD HEARTS, a modern-day Western.The movie co-stars Ricky and his daughter Cambrie Schroder, and it’s a Schroder family collaboration.“My wife and I got to write it, I got to direct it, we produced it.My sons were in it; my other little daughter was in it.The first All-Schroder Production.And it comes out March 9th.”In the next month or so, I’ll have another interview with Ricky and Cambrie, when we’ll talk more about WILD HEARTS, as well LONESOME DOVE and Ricky’s other Western films.

Last week we spoke about Ricky’s work in GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE: QUEEN OF HEARTS, and his twenty goats, who disappeared from his TopangaCanyonranch while he was off in Vancouvermaking the movie.

RICKY: The firemen every year come through the Santa MonicaMountains and put up notices on peoples’ homes that you’d better clear your brush, and you’ve got a deadline, before April 15th.So, I’ve tried various methods of brush clearing over the years I’ve lived in Topanga.And I even had a herd of twenty goats.

HENRY:Why did you get rid of them?

R:I didn’t get rid of them; my wife did.Because they kept getting out and eating all of her flowers.And then the straw that broke the camel’s back was, they got out and they used a friend of mine’s car as a rock.They climbed on top, and all over it, and totaled it.And once that happened, my wife got rid of the goats.I was off working on GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE.I came home and they were gone: she’d given them to a petting zoo.So I lost my goats.My new strategy was to get three miniature donkeys.And I deploy them to various areas of the property.I stake one to about a forty foot rope, and the other two will stay by, with the mother, the Jenny, and graze away.And they’re really good on the grassy areas on the property; but the brush, the goats were great on.Donkeys are more of a grazer, and they just want to eat grass.That’s the joys of living in a fire zone.

H:This isn’t exactly what you came from.Aren’t you a Brooklyn boy like myself?

R:I was born in Brooklyn, in BayRidgeHospital.I was several days old when they drove me over the recently completed VerrazanoBridge, and raised me and reared me in Staten Island.Which was when, believe it or not, there were still dairy farms on the Island.My poor clan, back in Staten Island, with (Hurricane) Sandy, was just devastated.Anyway, I’m a long way from Brooklyn and Long Island.LONESOME DOVE seems kind of what set me on this life choice, of moving to Coloradoand buying a ranch.I was 20 and getting into horses and the outdoors, and writing movies about it, and stuff.That’s how I ended up loving the West.I grew up watching John Wayne movies.I watched his war movies, I watched his westerns – I watched everything.It wasn’t until I did LONESOME DOVE that I knew I wanted to live that kind of lifestyle.

H:Backing up a little – actually I’ll back up a lot and start at the beginning.I know you did THE CHAMP and THE LAST FLIGHT OF NOAH’S ARKfirst, but the first movie I remember seeing you in was THE EARTHLING, with the great William Holden.Now you were only about ten years old then.Do you remember much about the movie, or Bill Holden?

R:I remember some things, yuh.I named my first son Holden, after Bill.And he left an impression on me as a young boy, about what a classy man he was.He was the kind of actor that, at the end of the day, would hang up his wardrobe.A lot of actors today just drop their wardrobe all over their trailer.It’s a mess, and they expect people to do that for them.Well Bill was the kind of actor that taught me that you hang up your own wardrobe.We were shooting in Australia, and he gave up his home so my mother and I could live in a ranch house with my sister.And he lived in our crummy little trailer for three months.We were in the middle of nowhere; there were no hotels.You know, that’s a big movie star doing that kind of thing.So yes, I remember a few things about Bill.I remember he loved maps.He’d sit and look at maps for hours and hours on the set.Maps of Africa specifically; he loved Africa.

H:Starting at age twelve you became – forgive me – a teen heart-throb on the hugely popular SILVER SPOONS.After six seasons, and 116 episodes, did you have trouble getting considered seriously for very different roles?

R:Well, fortunately, after SILVER SPOONS ended, I was seventeen.And I turned eighteen making LONESOME DOVE.LONESOME DOVE was a career-changing role.It helped me grow from a teenaged whatever-you-want-to-call-me – heartthrob was your word –

H:Sorry!

R:(laughs) – into part of a Western iconic piece of history, LONESOME DOVE.So thank you to those producers for giving me that opportunity.It helped me immensely, and other times in my career, the same things have happened.With NYPD BLUE, Steven Bochco gave me an opportunity to make another leap forward in my career.

H:How did you get the part of Newt?

R:Well, the President of CBS, Jeff Sagansky called me up, said, “I think you’d be great in this project we’re doing,” and I said to him, “You know, I don’t know horses very well, and I’m allergic to them as well.I don’t think I’m the right guy.”And I actually turned it down.And he called me back and he said, “Are you crazy?You know how famous this book is, right?You know this is the amazing Robert Duvall, and the cast.”

I said, “I’m just afraid I’m going to get sick.”

He said, “We’ll clean the horse every day for you.It’ll be allergy-proof.”

So I reconsidered it, and I got the proper medicine so I didn’t have to deal with any allergies, and I did.Thank goodness!

H:Do you still have allergy problems with horses?

R:It’s weird; it only happens in summer, when it’s hot and dusty.It’s climate-related.So if it’s a spring or a fall or a winter day, cold and damp, I’m great.But when there’s a great dust storm, and it’s hot, and the horses are sweaty – the dust is probably worse than the horses.But they’ve got such good medications now that I can pretty-well function at any time.I just have to make sure I take the right stuff.

H:Obviously you’re aware of the high esteem that LONESOME DOVE is held in.I personally consider it one of the very best Westerns done in any medium.Did you have a sense of how big it would be while you were doing it?

R:None of us did..We all knew that it was great production value, we all new that it was great actors, we all knew it was a great script.We all knew it had all these possibilities to become something.But none of us knew it would become what it became.It is in my opinion one of the best five westerns ever made.

H:In GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE: QUEEN OF HEARTS, you play a western villain for a change.How did you like not being nice?

R:Oh man, I loved every day, showing up, being the villain, and wearing the scars I wore; the psychotic demeanor, that I could play and relish with every day on set.He really is a colorful character, this Cyril Knox.A lot of that stuff we created for him was on the spot and kind of spontaneous.It was very organic – it wasn’t necessarily scripted as such.When you have the trust of the people around you; Luke and the producers and they trusted me and the director to really go all out as Cyril Knox, to not play safe.Whenever anyone was afraid that I was going too big or broad, I said listen guys, the bigger the badder the villain, the bigger the better the hero.So I’m really glad they let me push the envelope a little.

H:I particularly like that poker scene you have with Luke; there’s no violence in it, but lots of menace.

R:I wish I had more scenes with Luke in the movie.I liked that character so much, I asked the producers if they could bring Cyril Knox back.But I loved playing the villain.It was so much fun playing that guy, getting fancied up into that Southern gentleman attire I wore and slapping on those Colt six-shooters.It was a lot of fun.

H:What did you think of your femme fatale, Katherine Isabelle?I had not seen her before.

R:Nor had I.She did fine; she looked the part, like she fit in the era; she did a good job.I did it for Luke, though.I just wanted to work with Luke.It’s funny, Luke wanted me for that role; and I didn’t know why.And when I finally got to Vancouver to work, he said, “You know, Ricky, the first job I ever got in Hollywood was a job you passed on.It’s my way of saying thank you.”

H:Really?What was that?

R:I don’t remember what movie it was!I forgot, but you can ask him.

H:How did you like filming in Canada?Have you shot there before?

R:Oh yeah, I’ve shot in Vancouvertons.Great place to work when it’s not drizzling and grey, which is about nine months out of the year.

H:I wrote a film noir that was shot there, and it was perfect for the United States ten years earlier.

R:I love Canada.I married a Canadian.My wife’s from Alberta, the next province over.So I’ve spent quite a bit of time there, and my wife’s family’s all there.So I’m a big fan of Canada.I also like to see American stories shot here.So I’m hoping that we’ll get more domestic business too.

H:In QUEEN OF HEARTS there’s a lot of brawling involved, especially on that riverboat.And it looked like you were doing your own fighting.

R:Oh yuh, I was.It’s just more authentic.I didn’t have any real dangerous, dangerous stunts to do.You know, as long as actors keep control of their punches and their elbows and things, you’re fine.But I’ve got to give props to Luke; Luke did (the big) stunt himself, and if he had fallen, he could have got really hurt. I realized, wow, this guy’s a helluvan athlete.You know he rode a couple of those bulls in EIGHT SECONDS.Doing westerns and stunts, it’s all a lot of fun.

H:You’ve now directed two movies.Does that change your perspective as an actor?

R:Oh yuh.I’ve directed three movies and a bunch of music videos – I did one for Brad Paisley and Allison Krause called Whiskey Lullaby.The three movies I did were BLACK CLOUD, WILD HEARTS, and a film I did in Romania called HELL HOUNDS, and yes, it does change your perspective.Because you understand that time is your most valuable commodity.And actors delay, dragging their feet, getting out of make-up and hair and wardrobe.They’re slow to get to set, meanwhile the crew is waiting.Time is just so valuable – you’re constantly fighting time as a producer/director.And so because I’m aware of that, because I’ve been behind the camera, I just make sure I show up on time, I know my lines, I’m prepared.I don’t dilly-dally.I get my work done.It’s important.A lot of actors want to be in the boots that I’m in, and I never forget that.

H:You write, you act and direct.Do you see yourself doing all three twenty years from now, or do you lean towards one over the others?

R:Oh no, all three, all three to the end.I’m writing something now, I’ve written a couple of things I’m trying to put financing together for, to direct.I’m constantly looking for good acting roles, which are pretty hard to come by.Reality TV has taken so much of the time and the content on TV.And a lot of actors who wouldn’t have considered TV ten years ago, now they work in TV, and so it’s become a much more competitive place, the acting field.

H:If you were asked to do LONESOME DOVE 3, would you be interested?

R:I died!

H:That would be a problem, wouldn’t it.

R:I died in STREETS OF LAREDO.Newt was killed off camera.I was killed by the Hellbitch in a horse accident off-camera.So it’d be a little hard.

H:Of course, it’s television.We could always say there was a misunderstanding.Like DALLAS.

R:(Laughs) You’re right.We did a good job on QUEEN OF HEARTS.I’m awful proud of all the work we did, based on the realities of the marketplace, and the time and the money they give you to make the film.I think we did a wonderful job, and the producers got great production value, I’m proud of everybody’s work on it.

GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE: QUEEN OF HEARTS – Film Review

While the first two movies were enjoyable, Luke Perry’s third stanza as Judge John Goodnight in GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE: QUEEN OF HEARTS, is the best yet, and may be Hallmark’s best western to date.It premieres on Saturday night, January 26thon the Hallmark Movie Channel.

Luke Perry, who created the character, and writes the movies with Neal and Tippi Dobrofsky, plays a circuit judge in frontier Wyoming, whose endless travels and tremendous caseload brings him into contact with the good, the bad, and sometimes the beautiful, and from those contacts arise the stories.

Goodnight did not go into this career-path willingly.As a child, he was riding in a stagecoach with his parents, and a judge and his wife, when the stage was attacked by outlaws. His parents, and the judge, were killed. John and the judge’s widow survived, and she raised John as her own. He grew to be lawyer with no love of the law or of lawyers, and little ambition beyond drinking and carousing. His adoptive mother, a woman with political connections, in an unorthodox but effect use of ‘tough love,’ arranged to have him appointed a circuit judge in frontier Wyoming.

At this point in his story, he has had his revenge, but it hasn’t brought him the comfort he had hoped for.He’s still a loner, with very mixed feelings about passing judgment on many of the people he comes into contact with in his duties.

He’s traveling his circuit, between towns, when he sees a stagecoach chased by bandits, and rides to the rescue, shooting a pair of the bad men in the process.The only survivor of the attack is a lady passenger, Lucy Truffaut, played by the lovely Katharine Isabelle, the daughter of a wealthy mine owner in the East Coast.The fun of this is that the audience knows a great deal more about who Lucy really is than Goodnight does, and while I do not wish to give away too much, it lends the often quite serious proceedings a ‘MAVERICK’ sort of tone.

The damsel in question is being pursued by Col. Cyril Knox, in the person of Ricky Schroder, who in a role diametrically opposed to his ‘Newt’ character from LONESOME DOVE, plays a conceited, vain, ruthless, deadly and despicable villain – and plays him with chilling precision.

The movie is an elegant mixture of action, adventure, menace, humor and romance.As far as the romance goes, the chemistry between Luke Perry and Katharine Isabelle is so good you can’t help hoping for a rematch.Not only is Ms. Isabelle easy on the orbs, she also has a wonderfully expressive face which reveals ever thought and emotion as it occurs – a perfect contrast to Perry, whose poker face reveals only what he wants you to know.

There is considerable action, between hard-riding, running gun-battles, runaway stagecoaches, the occasional bear, and brawl on a riverboat that has a wonderful payoff. Cinematographer David Pelletier takes full advantage of his Canadian exterior locations, and his interior compositions are often unusual and interesting.Director Martin Wood, whose usual bailiwick is sci-fi, does a fine job of keeping the right balance of tone throughout.

I’ll make just two criticisms, because the purists would never forgive me otherwise: facial scars have a lot to do with one character’s motivations, but those scars can hardly be seen.Also, much is made of one character’s skill with a longrifle.But the weapon shown is (a) not a longrifle, and (b) used in such a manner – on horseback – that would made accuracy impossible.

That said, GOODNIGHT FOR JUSTICE: QUEEN OF HEARTS is a pleasure.Enjoy!

COX CABLE WATCHERS – IF YOU DON’T WANT TO LOSE RFD-TV, SPEAK UP NOW!

Patrick Gottsch is sort of a hero of mine.Not only does he run RFD-TV, Rural America’s Most Important Network,as well as Rural-TV and FamilyNet, he is also the man who bought Trigger and Bullet when they were being auctioned off, and has put them on tour around the country!Last year they rode the RFD-TV float at the Tournament of Roses, and won a prize, and this year’s tractor-themed float won a prize again!

As I do every Sunday morning at 9:30, I was watching the Roy Rogers Show this morning when Patrick Gottsch came on during an ad break, and announced that, without any warning, Cox was threatening to drop all of the RFD-TV networks from their cable system on February 1st!The reason?Huge conglomerate networks want their spots on the dial!If you are a Cox customer, and want to keep seeing the RFD networks, Patrick is asking you to write an e-mail of complaint to Cox, but to send it directly to Patrick at Patrick@rfdtv.com, so he can present them all to Cox Communications.He further asks you to call your local Cox Cable System and voice your concerns.Don’t feel you can’t make a difference: we helped pressure Dish Network to pick up AMC, the home of HELL ON WHEELS, after they’d been dropped, and we can do the same here!

PANCHO VILLA RECRUITING POSTER AMONG

‘HIGH NOON’JANUARY 26TH AUCTION HIGHLIGHTS

Crow rifle case

On Saturday, January 26th, High Noon Auctions will hold their 23rd Annual Western Americana Auction in Mesa, Arizona.Always a fascinating and eclectic mix of history, show-biz and art, the over three-hundred lots feature items that are sure to delight anyone with a Western frame of mind, no matter their specific interest.

Frank Tenney painting

Among the most interesting pieces is a Pancho Villa recruitment poster looking for American enlistees.The text reads:Atencion Gringo.For gold and glory, come South of the border and ride with Pancho Villa, El Liberator of Mexico!Weekly payments in gold to: dynamiters, machine gunners, railroaders.Enlistments taken in Juarez, Mexico January 1915.VIVA VILLA!VIVA Revolucion!

101 Ranch guestbook

Also up for bids, a saddle owned by Simon Bolivar, The George Washington of South America.Born to a wealthy Venezuelan family in 1783, he vowed to liberate South America from Spain, and succeeded.He would be instrumental in the liberation of Columbia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, and the country they named after him, Bolivia.

There is also a photo of William S. Hart, inscribed to Nancy Russell, wife of painter Charlie Russell.There are Cattle Brand books, Tim McCoy and Tom Tyler posters, Wells Fargo items, a Duncan Renaldo ‘Cisco Kid’ sombrero, and a James Coburn Stetson with a Nudie’s Rodeo Tailor sweatband.To learn more, order a catalog or, more importantly, to bid, go HERE .

Prison wagon

‘HIGH CHAPARRAL’ REUNIONREGISTRATION DEADLINE FEB 1ST!

From March 22nd through March 24th, fans of the venerable and excellent HIGH CHAPARRAL will be gathering in Tucson, Arizona, or more correctly at Old Tucson Studios, home of the series, to celebrate, swap memories, and to meet the people who made the show happen.Among the attendees will be Henry Darrow, ‘Manolito Montoya’, whose interview was in last week’s Round-up (if you missed it, the link is HERE.http://www.henryswesternroundup.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-man-who-is-manolito.html)Also Don Collier, who played ranch foreman Sam Butler; Rudy Ramos, who played Wind, Producer Kent McCray, and casting director Susan McCray.Penny McQueen, the trail boss of this event, tells me the full three-day weekend package is $350, and includes transfer, entrance and lunch at Old Tucson, Sunday brunch, Friday venue events, Director's Cut of the pilot episode showing, photo & autograph session, episode viewing, courtesy transport to Old Tucson, Q&A sessions and more.You can learn more at the official website HERE http://thehighchaparralreunion.com/, and email your inquiries here:info@thehighchaparralreunion.com

On Saturday at a collector show I picked up the two Swedish candy cards below, which are actually about 1 by 2 inches.The first shows Mark Slade and Henry Darrow from the show.The other, from the movie COMANCHE (1956) features HIGH CHAPARRAL star Linda Cristal and Dana Andrews clowning around.

TCM FANATIC - WESTERN NOW ONLINE!

And speaking of TCM (okay, nobody was), have I mentioned that the segment I was interviewed for is now viewable here?

THE AUTRY NATIONALCENTER

Built by cowboy actor, singer, baseball and TV entrepreneur Gene Autry, and designed by the Disney Imagineering team, the Autry is a world-class museum housing a fascinating collection of items related to the fact, fiction, film, history and art of the American West. In addition to their permanent galleries (to which new items are frequently added), they have temporary shows. The Autry has many special programs every week -- sometimes several in a day. To check their daily calendar, CLICK HERE. And they always have gold panning for kids every weekend. For directions, hours, admission prices, and all other information, CLICK HERE.

HOLLYWOOD HERITAGEMUSEUM

Across the street from the Hollywood Bowl, this building, once the headquarters of Lasky-Famous Players (later Paramount Pictures) was the original DeMille Barn, where Cecil B. DeMille made the first Hollywoodwestern, The Squaw Man. They have a permanent display of movie props, documents and other items related to early, especially silent, film production. They also have occasional special programs. 2100 Highland Ave., L.A. CA 323-874-2276. Thursday – Sunday 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. $5 for adults, $3 for senior, $1 for children.

WELLSFARGOHISTORY MUSEUM

This small but entertaining museum gives a detailed history of Wells Fargo when the name suggested stage-coaches rather than ATMS. There’s a historically accurate reproduction of an agent’s office, an original Concord Coach, and other historical displays. Open Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. Admission is free. 213-253-7166. 333 S. Grand Street, L.A. CA.

WESTERN ALL OVER THE DIAL

INSP’s SADDLE-UP SATURDAY features a block of rarely-seen classics THE VIRGINIAN and HIGH CHAPARRAL, along with BONANZA and THE BIG VALLEY.On weekdays they’re showing LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE, BIG VALLEY, HIGH CHAPARRAL and DR. QUINN, MEDICINE WOMAN.

RFD-TV, the channel whose president bought Trigger and Bullet at auction, have a special love for Roy Rogers.They show an episode of The Roy Rogers Show on Sunday mornings, a Roy Rogers movie on Tuesday mornings, and repeat themduring the week.

WHT-TV has a weekday afternoon line-up that’s perfect for kids, featuring LASSIE, THE ROY ROGERS SHOW and THE LONE RANGER.

TV-LAND angered viewers by dropping GUNSMOKE, but now it’s back every weekday, along with BONANZA.

That’s all for now! Enjoy the Inauguration, and have a great Martin Luther King Day! And sleep late!

Happy trails,

Henry

All Original Contents Copyright January 2013 by Henry C. Parke – All Rights Reserved